Lying on my not-so-cozy bed, I tried to find sleep. Strangely, her sweet kiss did not embrace me this night... Strange indeed. Normally, after a bountiful night like earlier, sleep would flood me immediately. Something was wrong. I could feel it.
That weird premonition would manifest suddenly—a few loud knocks sounded from my door. There was someone behind my door, this late at night. A chill fell down my spine, knowing full well that I wasn't expecting anyone, especially at this hour.
I turned my gaze toward the watch on my wrist. It was 2 in the morning. Boy, am I not opening that door.
As I was about to lay back on my bed, another series of knocks occurred, but this time, a familiar voice came with it.
"Luna! It's me. P-please open up."
I rolled my eyes, instantly recognizing that high-pitched, cracked voice. No way I'm going out for him. I decided to just stay in the comfort of my not-so-comfy bed. I did not want another problem on my tail.
"Come on... It's important. I won't pose you any problem, lil Luna, I swear."
I sighed when he knocked again, insisting more on the matter. Stupid little me, easily melting to those two words. I reluctantly stood up and headed to the door, opening it.
On the other side was a tall, handsome man in his 40s. I slightly frowned, seeing that he looked completely bloody and rugged, as if someone had beat him up ruthlessly. As we met eyes, those usual apologetic eyes crossed mine again.
"Fuck..." I whispered as a figure appeared and pushed him right into me, making the both of us fall to the ground.
As I struggled to remove the tattered man off my chest, I heard the sounds of multiple footsteps entering the room. I knew I was done for, hearing the door close along with a small clink... the door was locked.
"Pick them up," a cold voice spoke out while I was still struggling with the heavy weight pressing on me.
Footsteps got closer, and the pressure on my body disappeared along with them. Still confused as to what had just happened, two men forcefully pulled me to my feet, handling me aggressively by my shoulders.
I tried to struggle, but my meager girl physique could do nothing against these two big men holding me. Knowing my strength was of no use, I decided to cool my head first and analyze what in the hell was happening.
I raised my head, and ahead of me was the hateful—looking at me with an apologetic face.
"What did you get yourself into again, Dad…"
He was about to open his mouth to answer me, but was immediately kicked in the gut by someone. It was the guy who gave the order to pick me up.
Ignoring my dad's grunts of pain, I turned my head toward him, analyzing his features. It was a bald, middle-aged man with a long scar etched across half of his face. Like the men holding me and my dad down, he wore a black suit and had a threatening aura all around him.
"Let me keep this brief. As the Black Lotus's representative, I have been given specific orders regarding the both of you." The bald man patted the blood off his shoes as he spoke.
"You see, Miss Marlowe has greatly offended our business partners. On a mission to deliver a serious amount of our precious product."
I immediately turned toward my father and glared at him for pushing his drug problems onto me again! This time, it was the worst stunt he had ever pulled on me. Never had he caused men to break into my apartment and cause such a ruckus.
This would get worse as the bald man reached toward his suit and took out a knife. He wanted to speak out, but a sudden click sound made the both of us widen our eyes. There was no mistaking that sound. It was a gun.
The bald man held out a gun with a silencer attached. My heart started to beat faster and faster, seeing its muzzle slowly rise and point toward... my father.
"Your last words, Mr. Marlowe?" the bald man asked, pushing his gun right under Dad's neck.
"I—I did this for us, lil Luna... I thought I could solve all our problems in one go... I'm sorry. Know that I love the both of you from the bottom of my heart."
He rambled on with that annoying apologetic look on his face. Yet again, my heart melted, hearing that all-too-familiar cracked voice. I didn't know what to say... shedding one single, sad tear down my cheek.
Dad closed his eyes, ready to meet his end... and as expected came a silent gunshot. A violent spurt of blood followed, splashing right onto my face.
I was sent into a state of shock, seeing the life immediately leave my father's eyes, right in front of me. Strength left my body, making the two men behind me support me instead of holding me down.
I could only stare blankly as the men holding my father dragged his body out of the room, leaving me and the bald man face to face.
"I recommend you read this thoroughly."
These were his last words to me before throwing a stack of papers on the ground, finally leaving the room along with his two lackeys.
Without them supporting me, I immediately fell to the ground, feeling weak all over my body.
I did not know how long I stayed slumped there, but I regained my senses when the bright morning light shone toward my eyes. Everything that happened the night before seemed like a bad dream—but the stack of papers on the floor, along with the drops of blood scattered around, proved that it was all too real.
"I recommend you read this thoroughly." The words of the bald man resounded through my brain as I laid eyes on the papers.
With slightly shaking hands, I grabbed the stack of papers and read through all the pages, not leaving a single word unseen. My anger rose with each page turned.
"That bastard!" I shouted angrily, throwing the papers to the ground. Its contents were details of the reason the Dark Lotus were after my father...
Basically, my father was tasked with transporting a huge amount of drugs, but he went and used his idiot brain to send the drugs to the Dark Lotus's rivals. And the stupid thing is—they took the drugs and ditched him without paying! That damn idiot!
I took a deep breath and tried calming myself, as I felt like I wanted to stand up and break something.
"There's no point in causing more damage for the dead, Luna... You already have more on your plate now…" I tried to calm myself, recalling the paragraphs concerning both my and my father's fate: I would inherit his entire debt while his corpse would be sold, lessening the debt.
I wanted to cry so bad, to thrash my arms around in anger. Yet doing so would not change my situation... I could only sigh, as my life that was already doing good suddenly took a turn.Damn you, Father.